Replaced is a decent mood piece, with punchy combat, an underwhelming story and platforming, and striking visuals.

While it’s not the most polished game from a graphical standpoint, Tides of Tomorrow is nonetheless a compelling post-apocalyptic adventure with a smart asynchronous multiplayer twist.

While you have to give credit where credit’s due to developer Big Bad Wolf for not compromising in the complexity of its puzzles, it also means that Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss won’t be for everyone. It’s a challenging, flawed investigative puzzler that will drive all but the most patient to the brink of madness.

Pragmata is lusciously produced single-player action game, though not up to Capcom’s heights.

Crimson Desert's rich and detailed open world is a remarkable achievement, and the crunchy combat is fun, but poorly explained game mechanics, performance issues, and a muddled, rather dull story tarnish what could have otherwise been a rather special RPG experience.

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is an adequate chunk of side-scrolling action, with some perfectly standard platforming thrown in, but it’s bogged down in dull lore.

A decent clutch of games, presented well enough, but with some duds in the mix, the Marvel MaXimum Collection is livened up by a couple of gems.

A welcome return for the cult classic SNES beat 'em up series, Rushing Beat X: Return of Brawl Brothers harks back to its past, while offering a few new ideas of its own. Fans can revel in the callbacks and story, while everyone else can enjoy a solid, more than serviceable brawler experience.

The arcade style of the races is crisp and difficult, and if you find yourself bored by the plot, feel free to skip through it.

While Train Sim World 6 makes sense as a complex and detailed simulation, Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor is a game aimed at a different audience. That it makes too few compromises for that audience and fails to give you something as simple as a skip button for dialogue is inexcusable. Wonders of Sodor? Wonders of sod all, more like.

A handsome remake that loses some of the original’s power.

Toxic Commando is a perfectly serviceable co-op shooter with flashes of real spectacle.

As a pure stealth experience, Styx: Blades of Greed is something of a treat. Despite being a bit rough around the edges, and slightly lacking in technical finesse, developer Cyanide's latest dose of sneaky goblin action is well worth a punt.

While the new additions to High on Life 2 make for a more enjoyable shooter experience than its predecessor, there’s a lack of technical finesse that holds it back. Overall, however, this is a leaner, meaner, and just all-round better game than the first one.

The mechanics of Reanimal are slightly plodding and airless, with not much by way of creativity or challenge, but the spectacles are often impressive.

New content there may be, but there's little in Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties that's genuinely fresh, and the combat mechanics are beginning to feel slightly old hat. But this is a Yakuza game, and is therefore inherently good fun, balancing substory silliness and levity with a gritty crime narrative. It's also a good, solid remake that's well worth playing.

Code Vein 2 definitely feels like a sideways step in many respects. However, much like the original, it’s still a hell of a lot of fun.

If stylish art can raise a game, as though it were a toast, then MIO is proof that no idea – no genre – is ever quite done with us, so long as we have good cause to look again. As we read, on finding the rusty shell of an old contraption: “It’s not dead yet, except if you decide it to be.

A rarity, Thank Goodness You’re Here! lovingly mocks the North of England, and it has several good laughs, but it does underwhelm in its play.

Another nice batch of games to revel in with family and friends, The Jackbox Party Pack 11 is an essential survival kit for awkward gatherings. Laughter and merriment shall inevitably ensue.

A messy and rather poor campaign, Multiplayer and Zombies modes that fail to offer anything new, and a general dearth of innovation means this year's COD instalment is a bit of a damp squib. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 still has plenty to offer, but, quite honestly, we've seen it all countless times before.

An enjoyable and addictive survivors-like bullet-heaven auto-shooter, Let Them Come: Onslaught will eat up a good few hours, but with only two characters and four levels, you will be desperate for more.

While the puzzles in Keeper never properly challenge, you’re won over by the easy pace and the sheer oddity of the visuals and story.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 goes light on RPG mechanics and its action is somewhat lacking. And, yet, being at the heart of Seattle's political machinations, embodying a powerful vampire and engaging in brutal, bloody combat, is a lot more fun than the sum of its parts would suggest.

Alien: Rogue Incursion isn’t top-class, but it roots you in your surroundings, and, even without a clamp-on headset, you feel enveloped.

A solid detective yarn with decent puzzles and a procession of absorbing mysteries to unravel, Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile is an intricate and enjoyable, albeit slightly shabbily presented, adventure with a slightly unusual 1970s style.

Silent Hill f is a strange concoction. It should be played, if you are a fan, but it suffers a lack of first-rate scares.

A hotchpotch of ideas and themes, Karma: The Dark World is a horror experience that doesn't quite manage to come together in a satisfying, coherent fashion. As such, it emerges as a frustrating, confounding thing, albeit one that displays brief flashes of potential. There's the kernel of something great here, but the execution ultimately falls short. On Xbox Series X|S, it's also hamstrung by frame rate issues.